I took the San Francisco Cable Cars for a test ride this past week while visiting SFO for business and wanted to share my opinion of it.

(And before Superfly busts my chops for not looking him up this was the one break I had the entire weekend and I was taking it to get to the office.)

PROS
Great views of the city through their large windows and openings
Roomy but firm seats
Great gas mileage since it uses no gas

CONS
Slower than death
Can't corner worth crap
Very Noisy

Here are some pics I was able to get while taking said test ride.

While waiting in line for the next car I had a great view of the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Marin Headlands.

Waiting in line also produced a nice view of Ghiradelli Square.

These cable cars come with a very distinctive retro exterior styling.

These cable cars also come with a very spacious interior seating at least 30 people or so.

Starting our initial climb up Hyde Street at a very slow and noisy pace.

At the top of Russian Hill is the "World's Crookedest Street" aka Lombard Street. Better territory for the cornering of a fne sports car and not the utilitarian cable car.

Generic city life going down Hyde Street at adecent but slow pace.

View of Coit Tower over on Telegraph Hill through the expansive opening.

View of the Transamerica Pyramid Building while going down Washington Street.

Still on Washington Street and we have crap for acceleration.

The University Club...not long until college football!

Crossing California Street and over another cable car line.

Going down Powell Street slowly.

Passing by Union Square.

Approaching the end of the line at the Powell Street Turnaround.

All in all the ride provided by the cable cars is one of nostalgia and viewing versus getting you somewhere quickly and comfortably. I would definitely recommend everyone take a ride but not purchase one for yourself.

"If you can't delight in the misery of others then you don't deserve to be a college football fan."

I love streetcars and cable cars. Here in Tucson I am an officer with the Old Pueblo Trolley which serves the University and soon, the Downtown area. Part of my involvement is as a streetcar motorman, driving the streetcar. We do a bit of business with SF Muni, so I suppose that there is a remote chance that I might be able to swap stick time with one of their people-it would the the ride of a lifetime. When the Association of Railway Museums had their convention in Sacramento last fall, I did get to motor one of the Western Railway Museum's cars during an afternoon event there.

"When a man runs on railroads over half of his lifetime he is fit for nothing else-and at times he don't know that."

Quoting Superfly (Reply 3):I understand how those business trips can be very limited.

This one definitely was limited. We had a system cutover for a little denim clothing manufacturer that you might be familiar with at the base of Telegraph Hill and I was coordinating our guys since the regular project lead was at a wedding. I got in late Wednesday, hit the ground running Thursday and had a 6 hour conference call that night for another client, and then 16 hours days on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and finally a long day on Monday followed by a redeye flight home to ATL.

Quoting Superfly (Reply 3): I won't give you $h!t this time as I know you do visit fairly often.

That having been said.... I rode the cable car a number of years back, and had a blast. We were fortunate enough to get an outside seat so we could hang out of the side while we were moving. It was a lot of fun.

Some but not all. Many of them have gone through heavy rebuilds and there are a few newer builds mixed into the fleet. Also, the grip mechanisms get removed for servicing on a regular basis, so the grip that is on the car is undoubtedly not the original grip. As for the burning smell, that's the friction track brake. The brake blocks are made of wood and can create quite the smell. The cars are also fitted with a handbrake and emergency brake. The emergency brake consists of a metal wedge that drops down into the cable trough when deployed. Due to the amount of friction generated, releasing the emergency brake usually involves using a cutting torch to break it free.

"When a man runs on railroads over half of his lifetime he is fit for nothing else-and at times he don't know that."

Thanks for those photos..as a former Bay Area resident, I greatly miss those very scenes of San Francisco and a case of homesickness has now overtaken me. As a kid, at the end of the line on Powell St we (my dad, mom, etc) would
leave the car and head to a nearby restaurant that my dad's company owned (now long since gone). And delight in
the turnaround.

$5 for a one way trip is definitely a tourist ripoff, but you can get a $11 day pass with unlimited rides on the cable car, street car and other public transportation means. That one's a good deal if you're doing the tourist thing.

I'll do my own airline. With Blackjack. And hookers. In fact, forget the airline.